Total Solar Eclipse 2020: Date, Timings in India, Visibility

New Delhi, Dec 11: Total Solar eclipse of 2020 is set to take place on December 14. According to scientists Monday's Total Solar Eclipse would be of magnitude 1.02 which means that at the moment of greatest eclipse, Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth totally blocking out the Sun.

Solar Eclipse 2020: Time, Date, Visibility

According to timeanddate.com, the partial eclipse would begin at 7.04 PM (IST) on December 14, the full eclipse will begin at 8:02 PM (IST) and reach its peak at 9:43 PM(IST) and end at 12:23 (AM) IST on December 15. The longest possible duration of totality would be 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

The last and total solar eclipse of 2020 will not be visible in India. A select few cities including Temuco, Villarrica, Sierra Colorada situated in Chile and Argentina will be lucky enough to get a glimpse of the event. Meanwhile, the Pacific Ocean, Antarctica and south of South America would witness a partial solar eclipse.

The previous solar eclipse happened on June 21 was an annular solar eclipse It was visible in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, among others.

What is a solar eclipse?

For those unaware, a solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly blocking the Sun.

The celestial event can be divided into three categories - total, partial and annular.

During the partial eclipse, the moon covers a part of the Sun and makes the leftover Sun visible.

In a total solar eclipse, the moon comes between the sun and earth and casts the darkest part of its shadow called the umbra on earth.

While an annular solar eclipse takes place when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than that of the Sun's and blocks most of the Sun's light.

When the total solar eclipse takes place on December 14, sky watchers are advised to use safe viewing equipment and proper techniques to view the celestial event as the infrared and ultraviolet rays of the Sun can cause severe retinal damage.